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Films, Fair Chase and Productive Dialogue

Organizers of Bigfork event hope to bring together hunters and non-hunters for an evening of conversation and movies

By Myers Reece
Adobe Stock

Claude Boiteau and Dane Hollinger, two Flathead Valley natives and avid outdoorsmen, have noticed a clear-cut divide in the public conversation about hunting, which they think falsely inflates the differences between the two sides.

In fact, they don’t think it’s as simple as two sides: hunters and non-hunters. Montanans, through all their varied interests and love of the outdoors, have more in common than not.

“There’s such a barrier now, two polarized camps: you’re a hunter or you’re not a hunter,” Boiteau said. “It’s hard to bridge that without any go-between.”

So Boiteau and Hollinger are trying to provide that go-between through a hunting film showing accompanied by a public forum to discuss issues such as ethical fair chase, habitat restoration, the reasons people hunt, how hunting funds wildlife conservation, public land access, and more.

Describing themselves as “concerned conservationists and hunters,” they want hunting enthusiasts, hunting agnostics, hunting skeptics and anybody else to attend the event to participate in a civil, informative discussion, with the bonus of watching outdoor adventure films.

“If we can bring together these groups and create a space that can foster some educational discussion where people feel comfortable speaking about how they feel about this topic, that’s something we’d really like to be able to do with this,” Boiteau said.

The Oct. 13 event at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts is a fundraiser for the Northern Rockies Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation, which conducts habitat restoration projects in the Flathead Valley. Boiteau and Hollinger came up with the idea after accompanying the Mule Deer Foundation on projects and engaging members in conversation.

While the evening benefits the foundation and its habitat restoration work, Boiteau is hoping to involve a number of different entities. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is expected to send representatives, including a grizzly bear biologist, and organizers want to recruit a wide range of other speakers to participate in the forum.

“It’s wide open,” Boiteau said. “Anybody who is reading this is welcome. It’s not preconceived; we’re not trying to push a viewpoint.”

Doors open at 4 p.m., with the film showing scheduled for 7 p.m. to provide ample time for a fruitful conversation. There will be displays to serve as tangible fodder for dialogue, as well as Q&As with speakers.

The showing is part of the national Hunting Film Tour and will feature 12 hunting-related short films totaling about two hours. The tour’s website describes the films as “conservation oriented adventure stories in high definition on the big screen.”

The Hunting Film Tour started in 2013 and was modeled after the Warren Miller Entertainment ski film tour. The tour has partnered with leading wildlife conservation organizations, such as Ducks Unlimited, Wild Sheep Foundation and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, while working closely with groups such as the National Wild Turkey Federation and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.

The tour also has support from a wide range of retailers and manufacturers, including Sportsman’s Warehouse, Mathews Archery, Kimber Firearms, Yeti Coolers, Traeger Grills, Spypoint Cameras, Behring Made Knives and more.

The organizers of the Bigfork event hope to showcase a similarly broad cross-section of hunting industry representatives, non-hunting outdoor groups, conservationists of all leanings and niches, and more.

Boiteau and Hollinger are from Bigfork and are pleased to hold the event in their hometown. Boiteau can’t recall a similar hunting adventure film event in the Flathead Valley, and certainly not Bigfork.

“The center for performing arts has never done anything like this, ventured very far into adventure films,” Boiteau said. “We used that as a leverage point to get more visibility on conservation and habitat restoration.”

For more information, contact Coltin Weber, chair of the Northern Rockies Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation, at (406) 212-5858. Tickets are available at the door or online for $12 apiece at http://events.ticketprinting.com/event/Bigfork-Mt-29896.